Geronimo the alpaca must die to protect British farmers, says Tory minister

Government minister George Eustice has said that Geronimo the alpaca will have to die as he refused to step in and give the animal a stay of execution.

Geronimo’s owner, Helen Macdonald, has said that Eustice would have “blood on his hands” if he didn’t act to save the alpaca that has been condemned to be put down by a High Court judge on the basis of two positive tests for tuberculosis.

Ms Macdonald, who has a farm in south Gloucestershire, claimed that the tests were “misused” and denied that Geronimo has tuberculosis.

Eustice though said it may be “soul destroying” but that it was the right decision to kill an animal if it stops a disease from spreading. He used the example of a cow on his family farm that had to be slaughtered due to tuberculosis.

He said that he has looked into the case of Geronimo in detail and said statistically that the tests given to him were 99 percent accurate.

Geronimo tested negative for tuberculosis before he came from his native New Zealand in 2017 (PA)

Helen Macdonald has said that Eustice would have "blood on his hands" if he oversaw Geronimo being put down (PA)

He wrote in the Mail on Sunday that "there are no easy answers when it comes to dealing with TB in cattle" and said how more than 500 animals on average have to be culled due to infection in England each week.

"Behind every one of those cases is a farmer who has suffered loss and tragedy," he added.

Geronomi’s case has had plenty of media attention and received the support of celebrities including Joanna Lumley, while 90,000 have signed a petition to ask Boris Johnson to step in.

Currently the alpaca will have to be put down within 30 days of the court ruling last Thursday.

George Eustice has refused to step in to save Geronimo from being put down (Getty Images)

The alpaca came to the UK from New Zealand in 2017 and was given four skin tests for tuberculosis before he left home, which involved the injection of a protein called tuberculin.

The results came back negative but when he arrived in the UK he was given a voluntary Enferplex test which came back positive - and Ms Macdonald puts it down to the tuberculin in the alpaca’s body from the previous skin tests.

She told the Mail: "My plan is simple. I'm asking George Eustice to pick up the phone and justify to me how his officials can be so dishonest and yet nobody, certainly not him, has noticed. They keep saying this is a valid test when it patently isn't. It is an abuse of their power and position."